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Posted by
Jonathan Greechan
on 2011-07-15

PUBLIC:

Founder Feedback gives you insights from the startup trenches. In a guest blog post that ran on Women 2.0 yesterday, Steffany Boldrini (Founder of Ecobold) shares five crucial lessons she learned while starting her company, in addition to tips she discovered in the process.

"Lesson #1: It takes time to find the right co-founder. Try this: Focus on meetups specific to where your ideal co-founder would be, if you’re building a gaming starup, try to find them at a gaming event or meetup...

Lesson #2: N-e-v-e-r give up. Try this: When things are going wrong, take a break and think “How can we get over this?” instead of “Why is this happening to me again?” You’ll be amazed at the ideas you’ll come up with...

Lesson #3: Welcome the opportunities that knock on your door. Try this: When someone asks if anyone has any announcements to make at the end of a meetup or event, always go say something. You will be shocked at the number of people who will remember you, who will come talk to you and the things that will come out of that simple move...

Lesson #4: An incubator is a must. After graduating from the Founder Institute, I highly recommend that anyone serious about their startup joins an incubator. You will learn what you’d learn by going through 2 or more startups...

Lesson #5: Being a woman doesn't make a difference. Once someone asked Kim Polese if she has ever felt that there were problems or discrimination throughout her career because she was a woman. She said something like “as long as you do your work, you won’t have any problems”. I agree with her 100%."

Ecobold, a marketplace for natural, non-toxic and sustainable products, is a Graduate of the Silicon Valley Founder Institute. Follow Steffany Boldrini and Ecobold on Twitter at @Ecobold.